The Statue of Liberty, aka “Lady Liberty” or “Liberty Enlightening the World.” Photo Courtesy of Microsoft Word.
In light of Trump’s ban on refugees and immigrants from Muslim countries, I thought you might be interested to know that Lady Liberty is actually an Egyptian (i.e., Muslim) woman.
Here are some highlights about Lady Liberty.
- The Statue of Liberty was designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (yes, that Eiffel) and Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi
- It was originally intended to be erected in Port Said at the entrance to the Suez Canal, but the Egyptian government felt it was too expensive a project.
- According to Edward Berenson, author of Statue of Liberty: A Transatlantic Story, Bartholdi’s concept was that of a “gigantic female fellah, or Arab peasant.”
- After Egypt had rejected the statue, Bartholdi’s statue of the female peasant morphed into “a colossal goddess.”
- She was presented to the United States by France in 1876 for our Centennial anniversary.
- She was constructed in France and delivered to the US Ambassador in 1884 after which she was shipped to New York City.
- Bartholdi personally oversaw the reassembly of Lady Liberty on Ellis Island in 1886.
- Early models of the statue were called “Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia.” But once it was decided to give the statue to the United States, she was repurposed and renamed “Liberty Enlightening the World.”
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We now call her the Statue of Liberty or Lady Liberty. And she is a Muslim woman.
Hear that Mr. Trump?
Civil Rights Advocacy 